


When Jemma Met Fitz

by SuburbanSun



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, First Meetings, Friends to Lovers, When Harry Met Sally AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 13:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8016370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuburbanSun/pseuds/SuburbanSun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time they met wasn't exactly love at first sight. Nor was the second. Or the third. </p>
<p>But that's okay. After all, men and women can just be friends. Can't they?</p>
<p>(A Fitzsimmons When Harry Met Sally AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Jemma Met Fitz

**Author's Note:**

> Written for The Fitzsimmons Network's Rom Com AU Challenge.
> 
> Apologies in advance, but updates may be erratic. Real life, ya know? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

~~

“She never could resist me. That was what it boiled down to.” Tony smirks, leaning back in his seat. Pepper quirks an eyebrow at that, but doesn’t correct him.

“We worked together. For a very, very long time. And eventually, it led to something more.”

“Because you couldn’t resist me,” he says, then shrugs. “Can’t really blame you. I’m irresistible.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” she says, laughing and resting her hand on his thigh. He flashes a smile, but when he slides his gaze over to her, his eyes soften. He reaches down and rests his hand on top of hers, squeezing gently.

“There may have been more to it than that,” he admits, and she beams, a knowing twinkle in her eye.

~~

 

 

> _2003_

 

“Leopold Fitz?” Jemma Simmons tapped her foot impatiently on the concrete sidewalk outside Carter Hall. She watched the curly-haired boy who was supposed to have met her there fifteen minutes prior trot gracelessly across the quad, tugging his messenger bag higher on his shoulder as it began to slip. She pressed her lips together disapprovingly.

“Don’t call me that,” was all he said when he came to a stop in front of her, breathing heavily.

“What am I meant to call you, then? If we’re going to be spending the next few hours together?”

“Just Fitz is fine,” he answered, tugging on the strap of his bag again. Jemma simply shrugged.

“Alright,” she said, popping open the trunk of her sensible sedan so he could drop his bags inside. “I devised a schedule so that we can alternate driving shifts.” She handed it to him as he shut the trunk, and he frowned.

“It’s laminated,” he said. “And color-coded.”

She nodded. Of course it was. What, would he prefer to spill root beer all over it and not be able to tell whose turn it was to drive? “Is that a problem, Fitz?”

“No, no.” He handed it back to her and crossed to the passenger side, opening the door and sliding in. She did the same on her side. “It’s just-- it’s not even a very long drive, is it? Only DC to New York.”

Jemma rolled her eyes as she adjusted her rearview mirror. “It’s not terribly long, no, but this way, we’ll both be equally fresh and rested once we arrive. I understand you’re starting an assignment up there first thing tomorrow?”

“Yep,” he said, a note of pride in his voice. “I’ll be supervising a big robotics project they’re starting up at SHIELD’s lab up there. You?”

She shook her head as she pulled the car neatly onto the road. “I’m only up for a brief meeting with one of the subdirectors, but then I’m on assignment in San Francisco, at the Lantern. One of SHIELD’s top biochem research stations is located there.”

“Ah.”

Silence fell for a moment, and Jemma let herself enjoy it. She watched the brick buildings of the Academy’s campus pass by in her peripheral vision, and thought about how those buildings had represented the past three years of her life. She was simultaneously apprehensive and excited to move onto bigger things.

“So, how come we never actually met at the Academy? I mean, I knew you by name, of course,” Fitz said, pulling a soda and a bag of crisps out of his backpack. Jemma scowled at the snack, but kept quiet. “But,” he said around a mouthful of chips, “how did we avoid ever meeting?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I spent most of my time in the bio labs, as I imagine you did with engineering. It _is_ engineering, isn’t it?”

“Mmhmm.”

“And it’s a massive campus. The odds of us meeting were actually quite slim, when you calculate them.”

“Still,” he said. “Feels like we should’ve. Before Donnie suggested we carpool to the city, that is.” Jemma watched him out of the corner of her eye as he wiped chip crumbs on his jeans, and could barely concentrate on his words.

“Could you please--!” She tried to keep her tone calm. “Could you please be careful with your snack in my car? I don’t want to ruin the upholstery.”

He held up his hands placatingly. “Sorry, sorry.”

There was another moment of silence before he spoke up again. “I’m just surprised that we never met, what with Donnie dating Callie and all that.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “So because your first year roommate is dating my first year roommate, we should have been acquainted?”

“Well, yeah, probably. Donnie said he thought we'd get on.”

Sparing him another glance, taking in his wrinkled button-down and garish tie, not to mention the potato chip grease that now adorned the fabric of his jeans, Jemma doubted that to be true. She shrugged dismissively. “I imagine they had other things on their mind when they spent time together.” She still shuddered at the memory of the time she’d popped over to the apartment Callie had lived in during their third year and gotten more of an eyeful of Donnie than she’d ever expected.

Fitz chuckled. “Yeah, I guess. ‘Course, soon they’ll have the wedding to think about.”

Jemma almost jerked the wheel. “The _wedding_? Callie hasn’t mentioned--”

“Oh, she doesn’t know yet, I suppose. But Donnie’s planning to propose, now that they’ve graduated and are starting work at the Hub together.”

“That’s so romantic,” Jemma said, feeling herself melting just a bit. Then she considered it, shrugging one shoulder. “Pity it’s probably a mistake.”

“Huh?”

She looked at him as if it were obvious-- which, after all, wasn’t it? “Think about it. They’re high on endorphins from academic success. Their brains have created chemical reactions that make them think that getting married is the proper choice, but it’s just that-- brain chemistry.”

Fitz scoffed. “They’re in love. Trust me, you haven’t seen the way Donnie gushes about her.”

“They’re definitely in lust, that much I know to be true.” She reached down to fiddle with the air conditioner, adjusting the knobs to the optimal temperature. “But all these life changes are creating an artificial sense of urgency in their brains. They’d do well to be aware of the influence of said chemicals.”

“So, what, they shouldn’t get married at all?” His eyebrows raised, Fitz reached out and nudged the AC knob back to where it had been, several degrees cooler.

Jemma rolled her eyes, immediately readjusting it once he'd leaned back in his seat. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s entirely up to them.”

“‘Course it is.”

“All I’m saying is that once one is made aware of the impact brain chemistry has on so-called human emotions, once can make more educated life decisions.”

Fitz turned in his seat to face her more fully, an incredulous look on his face. At least he'd given up on the air conditioner battle. “Are you saying that real love doesn’t exist, Simmons?”

She sighed. “I’m saying that it’s simply a construct of--”

“Yeah, yeah. Brain chemistry. I get it.”

Jemma nodded. “Exactly.” Fitz turned back in his seat to face forward, crossing his arms over his chest. She thought she heard him mutter something to himself, but couldn’t tell what. Well, it didn’t truly matter if they disagreed on something so fundamental. He’d been right-- the drive wasn’t _that_ long. They’d be going their separate ways before they knew it.

And that they were. Just a few hours later, they’d parked in front of the apartment building in which he’d be renting a place, and he was pulling his bags from the trunk.

“Well, I appreciate the ride, Simmons.”

“I appreciated the company,” she responded, though she thought an audiobook might have been a much more preferable companion.

He set his duffel on the sidewalk and, after an awkward moment, held out a hand. “It was nice to finally meet you. If nothing else.”

She smiled tightly and shook his hand. “Likewise.”

“Even if you _are_ the least romantic person I’ve ever met,” he said with a smirk. She dropped his hand, her brow furrowing in annoyance.

“I wouldn’t go _that_ far.”

Fitz picked up his bags and shrugged the strap of his duffel onto one shoulder. He started to walk backward toward the building’s entrance and she drifted back toward her car. “Right. It was an educational ride, at least!”

“I’m merely being pragmatic,” she shot back, unlocking the driver’s side door. She watched him chuckle-- a bit obnoxiously, if you asked Jemma-- with a shake of his head as he reached the door to the building. He tapped in a code on the keypad and the door slid open.

“Goodbye, Simmons.”

“Good luck, Fitz.”

She shook her head as he disappeared. She was plenty romantic. One could be romantic and still be aware of the biochemical reasoning behind human emotions. She slid into the car and started the engine.

Oh, well. It didn’t matter, anyway. She’d never see him again, and instead had an important meeting to look forward to and an illustrious career to begin. The adrenaline and endorphins generated by her brain at the thought could only help her, and the fact that she recognized their usefulness meant she could more easily harness them.

Jemma was eager and ready to start her post-Academy life. She pulled out onto the street, heading for her hotel. Tomorrow, San Francisco. She was more than ready to begin.

**Author's Note:**

> Want to hang out on Tumblr? I'm unbreakablejemmasimmons over there!


End file.
